The Kindred
by KittyCatKate
Summary: Illa Dutcher was an ordinary girl, who loved art and cartoons. Her life is simple. Too simple. Boring, she calls it. Until she is runs into (quite literally) a time-traveling alien, along with his pink and yellow human, and he showed her the stars. He shows her the stars and beyond, the wonders of life, and Illa can now say, life is wonderful and bright, and so much better
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related to it. However, I do own Illa and any ideas I make unless stated otherwise.**

* * *

Illa Dutcher would never call herself extraordinary.

She was average, at best. She was a shy, awkward, petit person who always preferred to sit on the sidelines. She was by no means dumb, but she most certainly wasn't a genius, either. She wasn't brave, she wasn't the prettiest and she wasn't athletic...

But what she was, was late.

Her lungs burned with each step she took, her legs moving awkwardly and almost jelly-like. She shouldered her backpack, the bag slipping off.

She stopped at an intersection, hopping on the spot as she eyed the never changing red light. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," she whispered to herself.

Finally, after what seemed forever, it turned green. She bolted down the street, humming along to her music to somehow keep her mind off of the impending time limit she had to get to her college.

She was nearly a block away now. Almost there, she could even see it-

She was suddenly knocked to the ground, a sharp pain shooting up from her rear. She groaned in pain, rubbing at her moreover aching head from the sudden movement. She looked up, one of her eyes clenched from pain, and nearly had a heart attack.

There was a man, with large ears and short hair, his leather jacket thrown astray, nearly falling off his shoulders; who was also rubbing at his head.

"Oh my god- I'm so, _so_ sorry! I was late, and so I was running, and I didn't see you, and I'm really, really sorry and oh my gosh please don't tell me you have a concussion!" Before the man had a chance to even register what she had said, she had grasped his face between her hands, checking his eyes. "No dilated pupils. That's good, right?" Then, she pushed back his hair. "Okay- no bump, also good. How many fingers am I holding up?!"

The man blinked at her, seemingly amused, before answering, "Four."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Okay- I'm pretty sure you don't have a concussion, although I don't qualify as a nurse, so don't quote me on that..."

"You sure talk a bit, don't you?" he asked, chuckling. She blinked at his northern accent, before what he said registered in her mind. She flushed in embarrassment.

"My mum says I like to ramble too much," she said, playing with her hands. "Says I have a really active mind."

"Did you draw these?" he suddenly asked. Her head shot up, her gaze catching him holding an old and very well-used sketchbook. It must have fallen out of her bag in the crash. She was rushing and forgot to zip it up.

"Oh, uh, yeah..." she mumbled, fidgeting with her sweater sleeves. "They're not that great, but-"

"What are you talking about; these are amazing!" he cut in, giving her a wide grin. She flushed red, avoiding her gaze, but she was smiling.

"Thank you. That means quite a lot. Art is my passion, and I'm in an art course right now, so..." her eyes widened, "which I am late for!" She grabbed her sketchbook from the man's hands, stuffing it into her bag, bolting up to begin running. "Again- so sorry about crashing into you!" she yelled behind her.

"Wait a tick!" the man shouted, and she somehow found herself stopping. "What's your name?"

She scrunched up her nose. He was a stranger, she shouldn't tell him her name, that would be stupid and irresponsible. However... she was a good judge of character, and if he had wanted to cause her harm, he would have done so already; they were in a quiet place devoid of people.

The one thing she was, and always had been, was kind.

So, she gave her friendliest smile, and replied, "Illa." The man smiled back, before she asked, "And you?"

He let out a chuckle. "The Doctor."

Illa raised an eyebrow. "Doctor...?"

He laughed, crinkles appearing near his eyes. "Just the Doctor."

"Okay, then," Illa chuckled. "It was nice to meet you, _Doctor."_

"As to you," the Doctor said, and Illa gave one last kind smile before running off towards the large building not to far from where they had crashed.

Illa had frantically ran through the halls of the small town college, passerby's giving her pitying glances as the bell rang throughout the building. Her professor was not one of forgiveness, and if she was late, she would be dead.

When Illa neared her classroom, she quietly opened the door and sneaked in. Her eyes scanned the room, and a sigh of utmost relief escaped her lips when she couldn't spot her short, gray haired professor.

A hand waving near the front of the room made her heart skip a beat, and a small, flustered grin fell upon her face as her feet quickly sped across the room. She patted down her disheveled hair before sitting down at the table, giving a hesitant smile to the brown haired boy already sitting there.

"You're lucky," the boy said, his smirk and eyes sending Illa's heart a flurry. "The professor 'forgot' our assignments in her car, so she left to get them. She would've busted you otherwise."

Illa raised an eyebrow, trying to hide her frantically beating heart and flushed cheeks. "Jake, Why do I feel as if you had something to do with it?"

Jake made an innocent face, raising up his hands in defense. "I don't know what you're talking about." Before Illa had a chance to reply, Jake leaned in right up to to her ear and whispered, "I may or may not have stolen the assignments for you."

His breath tickled her neck, her breath getting caught in her throat at the close proximity. Jake leaned back, smirking as he bopped her on the nose. "You're so cute when you're flustered," he chuckled, causing her to curl into her sweater. The chuckles of the other students rung in her ears.

The professor entered not even a minute later, disgruntled and grumpy as she begrudgingly admitted she would have to wait another day to hand back the assignments, which some whined about. Jake smirked at Illa, causing the 22 year old to blush (once again she told herself internally).

Class passed by in a blur of yawns and scoldings courtesy of their professor. As much as Illa loved drawing and learning about art, sometimes she really hated this class.

Before long, students were picking up their bags and leaving the class before their professor could yell at them. Illa and Jake followed suit. They began to walk down the halls towards the front entrance, and she began to say something, before Jake wrapped his arm around her waist. She let out a small sound of alarm, before ducking her head in embarrassment.

"I was thinking we could get together tonight," he whispered to her softly, her heart beat sky-rocketing at his words. "We could have dinner; on me, of course."

Illa licked her suddenly dessert dry lips. "Y-yeah, I'd enjoy that."

Jake grinned at her. "Great! Meet me at the park at 6:00, K?" She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He grinned again before lightly brushing his lips to her forehead. Then, before she could register it, he had walked off.

Illa counted to nearly 60 seconds, before a grin split across her face. She let out a quiet squeal of happiness, and then proceeded to skip her way back home.

To pass the time before she had to get ready for her date (Illa blushed just thinking about it), she finally caught up on some shows she had meant to watch, read a few chapter of her newest novel before picking up her sketchbook.

She flipped through it, trying to find a blank page, only to see she had used up all of them. She grimaced. "Great." She sighed, before standing up and throwing on her coat. She had didn't have much else to do, might as well get a new one when she had the time.

Turning a corner, she stared up at the bright blue sky as she plugged in her earphones. Not a cloud in sight. She smiled. Just the way she liked it.

Y'know, she never really drew the sky, which is completely absurd, now that she thought about it. Ooh! She could draw the sunset! Maybe find a nice spot at the park, add in some trees, use some oranges and blues. This was going to be a truly beautiful picture-

In her daydream, she hadn't watched where she was going, and bumped into a person walking towards her. She let out a sound of alarm, nearly falling backwards, before the stranger caught her by the arms.

"Whoa there! Don't want a repeat of this morning," a voice said, hands steadying her by her arms.

"Thanks," she whispered as she tried to regain her breath. She looked up, and blinked at a familiar, toothy grin. "Doctor?" she asked.

His grin widened, backing up and letting go of her arms. "Yup! That's me, The Doctor!"

"Who's this?" another voice, this time feminine, asked. Illa tilted her head, looking behind the big-eared man. A pretty blond with brown eyes stared back at her.

"This is Illa! Ran into her this morning, quite literally," the Doctor said, beaming at the blond.

"Nice to meet you," Illa greeted, putting on her kindest smile, sticking out her hand to the girl.

The blond gave a toothy grin, shaking Illa's offered hand. "Rose."

"Now, while I love a good meet and greet, my sonic is giving weird signals, so we must be off!" the Doctor said, stalking off. "Come along, Rose!"

Illa raised an eyebrow, turning her head to see Rose shaking her own. "Is he always like that?" Illa inquired.

Rose let out a chuckle, watching as the Doctor practically sauntered his way along the streets. "You have no idea." She turned to Illa, giving the smaller girl a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Illa."

Illa smiled back. "Likewise."

Rose gave a mock salute, before she too sauntered off. Illa watched as the blond walked off, and she was about to make her way back to the shop, before her foot brushed against a small object. She looked down, blinking at the wallet at her feet.

She picket up the blank, completely dull, black wallet, and realized it had been the Doctor's. "Must have fallen out when I crashed into him," she muttered to herself, pocketing the wallet.

She followed after the two, their figures still barely in her sights. Surprisingly, the two of them were quite fast and quick on their feet. They made their way through the streets of the town, and even to the outskirts of it. She was going to just give up and give the wallet to the police instead, but when she heard the small scream of alarm, she stopped in her tracks.

 _'That sounded like Rose,'_ Illa thought to herself in fear, whirling around to face the small alley the scream had come from. Nervous sweat tickled her neck, her heart beating painfully in her chest. As tempting as the thought of running back into town sounded, she couldn't leave them. Someone had to help.

So, with her feet dragging like bricks, each step weighing her down, she fought the urge to run away. Instead, she entered the alleyway.

"... could have caused this?" Rose's voice filtered in her ears, making Illa let out a sigh of relief. She was okay, and didn't sound too distressed.

"Not too sure yet; working on it," the Doctor replied. Realizing Rose must have just been startled, Illa stepped fully into the alleyway.

A startled scream stuck in her throat, her eyes stuck on the mangled, broken mass that once could have been human. It was pale, shriveled and lifeless. It was a horrid sight, and Illa heart beat echoed in her ears.

"...a? Illa?" Rose's voice asked in concern, and Illa dimly realized she was being held in the blond's arms in a hug. She turned to look in Rose's brown eyes, her own bearing un-shed tears. "It'll be okay, Illa."

Illa swallowed back a sob, heaving out a high pitched, "W-what happened to t-them?"

Rose's lips pursed to a thin line. "We don't know yet. We're working on it."

Illa couldn't bear to look at the mangled mass again. She breathed in deeply, trying to keep her calm as she closed her eyes. She cringed, images of the horrid sight being scarred into her mind.

"Why did you come here?" the Doctor questioned her in cold suspicion.

She breathed in deeply again. "You dropped your wallet. I came to give it back," she replied, holding out her hand with the wallet. It was snatched from her hand, but she didn't care much. "I can't believe this happened," she whispered, clenching her eyes tightly to hold back tears.

"Yes, well, if you hadn't followed us, you would've been able to keep believing that."

"Doctor!" Rose hissed in anger. "It's not her fault, she was just trying to be nice!"

She imagined the Doctor had rolled his eyes. "Fine, _I'm sorry._ "

"Thank you," Rose said, with a hint of malice.

"A-ha!" the Doctor shouted excitedly, pointedly ignoring the girls as he inspected his strange device. His expression quickly changed to one of anger. "Essence was sucked out of them."

"What?" Illa questioned, his words making no sense. "What do you mean, _essence_?"

"I mean," the Doctor said, pointing the object at the mangled mass. "Their life, their very being was stripped from them."

Illa took a deep breath, wrinkling her nose. "How does one even accomplish that?"

The Doctor glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow. "You're not going to say that's impossible?"

"Well," Illa chuckled with near hysteria, and to be honest, it was more of a wheeze. "I can't find any logical explanation for what could do that to someone. So humor me, Doctor."

The Doctor felt the corners of his mouth tilt upwards, glancing at Rose. "She's taking this much better than your little fling did," he jabbed, making the blond scowl, before he turned his attention back the other blond. "Until I know what species did this, I can't pin-point exactly how it was done. However, what I do know is it was built-up over time. Whatever did this had been draining them for awhile."

Sympathy rose within Illa, and her eyes strayed to the mangles mess she'd tried so hard to avoid. A sob caught in her throat, but she grasped onto her composure and held on tight. More tears rose to her eyes, and she whispered, "What a horrible way to go."

The Doctor hummed in agreement, eyeing her in case she suddenly dropped in fright. However, when she didn't, he turned his gaze back to his device.

Rose's hands rubbed at Illa's arms, giving the shocked girl some comfort. "You okay?" Rose asked, before cringing at the question. Of course she wasn't. "Will you be okay?" she restated.

Illa breathed in deeply. "I think so, yeah."

The Doctor suddenly rose from his crouched position, walking out of the alley. "I gotta view these readings in the TARDIS. C'mon Rose."

Rose coughed, causing him to stop. "What about Illa?" she asked. Illa nervously tugged at the sleeves of her hoodie.

The Doctor eyed her for a moment for turning back around. "She'll come with us; can't have her blabbering to someone before I can figure out what caused this." Illa felt a hint of annoyance at his words, but held back her remark.

Rose nudged her, nodding her head to where the Doctor was waiting impatiently for them. "C'mon; he's gunna leave without us."

Illa bit her lip, nodding. "One sec," she said, turning around much to their confusion, even more so when she tugged her hoodie off. She laid it gently over the once living life, and sent a silent prayer for them. She got back up and followed after the two.

Their curious gazes burned into her neck, and she flushed under their glances. "I couldn't leave them like that," she muttered, keeping her eyes focused on her feet.

The Doctor grinned largely at her. "I like you, Illa." She flushed even more.

The two lead her to a blue, police box, and she raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Police public call box...?"

The Doctor pulled out a key, and ignoring her, unlocked the door and strolled in casually. Rose grinned at her, and followed after him, muttering a quick, "This'll change 'yer life."

Doubt welled up in Illa as she took in the box. It was extremely tiny, and she wasn't even sure it could hold both the Doctor and Rose without close, intimate contact. "You coming or not?" she heard the Doctor shout, however... Illa blinked. He sounded way farther than just inside the box.

So, with curiosity and a spark of excitement welling up inside her, she pulled open the door and stepped in.

"Oh _god_ -" she choked, dimly feeling Rose pull her further into the suddenly very large room she had stepped into. She wheezed, her eyes feeling like they were close to popping out of her skull. "I-I-I-It's b-b-bigger on the- _OOOH BOY_!" she shouted, peeling her arms from Rose and stepping back, running a hand through her blond hair.

"Illa-"

"No! No. Nonono. Mmh, nope, on the train to nopeville," Illa rambled, turning around and around, eyes darting to and fro, her hands shaking from their place near her chest. Her ears caught chuckling, and she whirled around, eyes flaring as she pointed an accusing finger at the laughing duo. "You've got some explaining to do! The _both_ of you!"

The Doctor tried (and failed) to hold in his laughter and chuckles. Even Rose looked red in the face from holding in her own laughter. "That's been the best reaction yet!" The Doctor shouted, walking forward to Illa.

She stepped back, and around the middle panel, avoiding him and making the man laugh even more. "No! No, no, _no!_ What the _hell_ is this place!?" she shouted, voice cracking as she gazed about the coral room.

The other two occupants grinned. "This," the Doctor stated, gesturing around the room, "is the TARDIS. S."

"That means Time and Relative Dimension in Space!" Rose piped up, smiling proud as she remembered, and even more when the Doctor sent her a praising smile.

"So... it's another dimension...?" Illa asked cautiously, looking around.

"Yup." The Doctor flipped some nobs and levers. "Surprised you figured that out. Most people just assume it's 'bigger on the inside'." She scowled as he quoted her earlier words.

"Well... I just guessed because of the name," she replied, fumbling with her hands. It was a habit of hers when she was nervous and ooh boy this was on the top tens list of hers.

He flipped some more switches, before sticking the device he was using in the alley earlier into some sort of mechanism. He then flopped back on a chair that Illa hadn't noticed earlier, reading from a small monitor.

"So? Tell you anything?" Rose asked, coming up beside the man as he read from the monitor. Illa bit back her nerves and did the same.

The Doctor let out a sudden sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in a sudden serious manner. "What?" Illa asked nervously. "Is it bad?"

"Bad?" he seemed to snap, making her flinch in surprise. "It's worse than bad! It's almost Dalek bad! Not as bad, mind you, but still not anything good!" he rambled on, and Illa glanced at a pale Rose.

"But... how can it be _as_ bad as a _Dalek?_ " Rose whispered in horror. "That was horrible all on it's own. Now we have to deal with something similar?"

Illa bit her lip as the Doctor sighed. "And we're in a town full of defenseless people. Great, just what I needed. Rose, hope you don't mind us chasing this thing in the dark, with your stupid human sleep schedule."

Illa scoffed, sending him a judgmental look. "What? Stupid human sleep schedule? Are you implying you don't have one?" she asked, laughing. He only looked back at her seriously, and her eyes widened. "Oh my God you're not joking." She turned around and with quick strides made her way to the front entrance. "Okay- that's enough supernatural for me today." She grasped the handle, and gave a tight, fake smile towards the two. "Well, I _quite_ enjoyed our time together, Rose, Doctor, but I have a date and I need to go home to convince myself I'm not insane. Goodbye!"

She walked out and ran and ran. She ran until her lungs burned and her legs didn't want to obey her, but she didn't stop. Not until she was safely in her apartment and locked the door behind her. She leaned up against the wood, breath shaking and heart pounding in her ears as her mind replayed the events she had experienced over and over.

"Oh God-" she whispered, running a hand through her hair. She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes as she held out her arms. "Okay, okay. It'll be okay, Illa. Just forget about it and enjoy your time with Jake. It'll be fun." She slowly calmed down enough to pick out a nice outfit and curl her hair into nice, blond curls. .

Before she knew it, she was nervously pacing on a small patch of dirt as she bit her polished nails. Her heart thumped in her chest, and not just about the up coming night with Jake. She kept envisioning the body (or what resembled one), the bigger on the inside box, and the man who claimed to be an alien.

She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't catch the presence behind her, so when a voice whispered, "Boo!" right in her ear, she screamed in fright.

She whirled around, half expecting to see a monster of some sort, so when she saw the beautiful green eyes of Jake, she let out a sigh of utter relief.

"Jake," she whispered in captivation, flushing under his mirthful eyes.

"Hey, blossom," he chuckled, making her pout. "Hey, don't give me that; that nickname is your fault." She pouted further, but didn't argue. It _was_ technically her fault. He adopted the name a few weeks prior when she had told her her name actually meant 'tree'. Thus the terrible pet name.

"Anyway," Jake said, bringing her from her thoughts. He held out his arm, and smiled at her with charm. "May we?"

She chuckled. "We may."

The night quickly passed by in a blur of laughter and blushing. Jake kept brushing his hands over her shoulders and straying to hold her own hands. Illa was frightened that if she didn't get herself together, she might just spontaneously combust.

By now, they were slowly strolling through the park they had met at. His hand clasped in hers, he sent a charming smile her way, nodding to a secluded bench hidden behind some trees. "C'mon," he said, tugging her forward.

They sat down, Illa's heart pounding all the more. She avoided his eyes, instead looking up and smiling at the stars, feeling a calm slowly ease into her.

"Illa," Jake suddenly whispered, causing the girl to freeze as his hand tilted her chin towards him. His face was frighteningly close to her own, his eyes strawing down. Before she had the chance to reply, his lips captured hers.

She tensed in shock, too scared to move and somehow mess up. His thumb brushed across her cheek, sending shivers up her spine, and oh lord, it felt absolutely wonderful-

Her eyes... why did they seem so heavy? Gosh, his scent was just lulling her into sleep. She could just close her eyes and collapse into his arms...

Wait, why was his teeth so sharp? Is that normal? No, it couldn't be... and... was that growling sound?

She opened her eyes, and a muffled yell of fright got stuck in her throat, staring up into his eye. His third eye. His sudden fangs sunk into her lips and his eyes crinkled in amusement. Og God, she was going to die! She didn't want to die!

"Illa!"

Jake's lips were ripped from hers, and her body slumped to the ground. Dimly, the sensation of being held registered in her mind, but she was too tired to really think about it.

"Illa? Illa?! Please wake up!"

A groan raised in her throat, her eyes clenching as she recognized the voice. "Rose...?"

"Yeah! It's me! Can you open your eyes?" Rose asked.

Illa couldn't even shake her head. "No... too hard..."

"It'll be..." Rose's voice cut off, and Illa couldn't hear her anymore. God she was tired...

* * *

Illa was pleased to say she had never fainted before in her life.

She would consider herself a calm, cool, safe kid growing up. While her friends had their fair share of scrapes and broken arms, the most she had ever gotten was a sprained wrist, and even then, it was healed over in a few days.

In conclusion, Illa could confidently say she did _not_ enjoy the feeling of being passed out.

God, her head was fuzzy. She can't really remember anything. What had happened? Wait... it was coming back to her now. She was with Jake, in the park... he... was about to kiss her, and then...

Illa woke with a gasp, body jolting up in fright. A sharp ache seared in her skull, causing her to groan in pain and hold her aching head in her hands.

It took nearly four minutes for her splitting head-ache to pass, according to her internal clock. After which she realized the place she had been taken was extremely damp and cold, causing her to shiver.

It was quiet here, after she realized it was the basement of the college. The only sound was the dripping of water and the distant, dull sound of people walking. If she had to guess, she would say it was pretty late in the night.

"Mmnh..."

Illa gasped, whirling around to face the groan she had heard, only to see an unconscious Rose tied in ropes. She rushed over, checking over the blond for injuries, and heaved a sigh of relief when there wasn't, besides the small bump on her head. At least she wasn't bleeding.

"You're awake."

Illa froze, fear stirring in her nerves as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She knew that voice. She had loved that voice for the past _month._

She slowly turned around, curling around Rose's prone form protectively. She may have not been able able to do much, but at least she could try.

Jake stood before, more menacing than he had ever been. He looked like he was back to normal, missing his third eye and fangs, in his favorite green sweater, his signature, happy grin on is face. He looked like he had just come up to her apartment to play games, as it had always been. She may have even believed it, if it wasn't for the large gash on his cheek, dripping _purple_ blood.

"Good, I didn't think you'd ever wake up," Jake said, air filled with exuberance as he bounced forward. Illa flinched, a shiver racking her body as his grin fell. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know Jake, it cold be a never of things, like whatever the hell you did to me, or you kidnapping Rose and I, or the fact that you're dripping purple blood!" Illa spoke, voice quiet, but otherwise hysterical and panicked. "You did something to me, and all I know is that I _don't trust you!_ "

Jake sighed, shaking his head. "Y'know, I really enjoyed you. You were fun to assimilate. It's a shame I'm done with you now."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Illa shouted, eyes wide as she held onto Rose tighter. "And why did you kidnap Rose and tie her up?!"

"See, Illa. Since I'm so nice and I enjoyed you so much, I'll tell you," Jake said, crouching down in front of her, giving a smirk. "I'm what you call an empath. I gain power and energy by assimilating someone's emotions. Do you get it now?" He chuckled. "The reason why I brought her along was so you would cooperate. Also to piss off that little Doctor friend of yours."

"But you devour them like a starved pig," spoke a heavily accented norther voice behind Jake, and Illa felt herself relaxing. Exhaustion was seeping into her bones, and Rose was unconscious. She had tried to put on a tough act (that failed quite miserably), but she knew she wouldn't have been able to fight back. Perhaps if the Doctor was here, they'd have a chance.

Jake scowled before her, instinctively reaching for the gash on his cheek as he turned to face the Doctor. "You. You seem to know an awful lot about me for a human."

"Says the alien with a human disguise," the Doctor grinned, hands stuffed into his pockets. "But that's all part of the plan, isn't it? Empaths usually need strong, positive emotions. So you blend in as a human, smile your way into their little hearts before you eat them up."

"Got a problem with that?" Jake spoke, his detesting of the Doctor clearly evident.

"Problem? It's brilliant," the Doctor replied, his own admiration in his voice. Illa nearly felt like snapping at him, before he scowled, continuing, "It would be absolutely perfect if it didn't involve killing innocents. You left that poor woman to die in that alley, and you're going to do the same to Illa."

Was she... was she going to die? Oh god, she didn't want to die. She had so many things left to do, had so much to live for. She didn't want to die, and found dead, mangled like that body in the alley, killed by an _alien_ of all things. Tears prickled at her eyes, and she was unable to hold them back.

"It's the circle of life, unfortunately, that's how it goes," Jake said, bored with the conversation. Before Illa had the chance to comprehend it, his hand had snatched out and pulled at her hair, ripping her from Rose. She let out a strained scream of pain, but her limbs didn't want to move; she couldn't fight back.

"Then I'll have to stop you. There's no people dying on my watch," the Doctor spoke with calm fury, but Illa wasn't paying much attention. Her vision was getting blurry, and her breath was coming out in tired, quick pants.

The next few minutes were a blur. Illa can't place what was happening. Her vision was blurry, her ears ringing. She could barely move, her limbs aching too much to even try. She heard some shouting, but then it was silent.

She tried to open her eyes, to see what was happening. She dimly realized that the pain in her skull from her hair was gone, and Jake was bent over some sort of machine on the other side of the basement, muttering some language she couldn't understand. She tried to stand up, but she was barely able to sit up on shaking knees before Jake had yanked on her arm, dragging her to the machine despite her weak, feeble protests.

"This has been a much bigger deal than it could have been," Jake hissed, dragging her onto the machine, laying her down. "Now hold still, this is going to hurt." He grinned at her. "It's its any consolation, you don't tend to remember it."

She wanted to move, but she couldn't. She wanted to leave. She wanted to go home and snuggle in her bed, watch some cartoons and paint some landscapes. She didn't want to die. She wanted... she wanted...

"Rose? Rose, wake up, please. You need to wake up!"

Feebly, Illa turned her head, watching, confused as the Doctor frantically tried to shake Rose awake. Why wasn't Rose moving? She was supposed to be moving wasn't she?

"Oh God," Illa heard herself speak, heart racing and breathing quickening. "Rose!"

"Nothing to concern yourself over." Illa mustered the strength to glare at him, eyes filled with tears.

"You killed her! You killed Rose!" she screamed, sitting up, hysterical in anger. "You killed her, and you killed that woman in the alley! You've killed people all because you can!"

Jake was speechless, mouth gaping at the suddenly chipper girl who was spitting accusations at him. "How are you-"

"No! No, you don't get the right to speak!" Illa continued screaming. "You say you need positive emotions?! Well sorry to burst your bubble but that's the farthest thing you'll ever get from me now!"

Jake flinched, hands flying up to his chest as he grimaced in pain. His eyes widened in alarm, stumbling backwards. "No! What are you doing?!"

Illa felt a hysterical chuckle bubble in her throat. "Negative is the opposite of positive. And I am beyond angry! I'm sad and scared and cold so you 'll get all that, isn't that right?!"

"No! No! Stop it!" Jake shouted, trying to run forward and stop her, but before he could, the Doctor had rushed forward and held him back. "I'll kill you! I will!" he continued, eyes blaring with fury and anger, as he spat at her.

"I'd like to see you try," Illa laughed humorlessly, hugging her arms to herself.

"Illa! I need you stop that machine!" the Doctor gritted between clenched teeth, struggling to hold back the furious Jake.

Illa nodded, crawling with as much strength she could muster to move forward. Her limbs moved awkwardly, but she gritted her teeth and forced them to move. The machine was beeping, wires and buttons all over the place as it hooked up to the table she had been placed on.

"Pull the red one!"

Then, with all her might, she listened to the Doctor's words, and yanked the singular red wire from the machine.

Jake let out a gasp of pain, and sunk to the floor in a heap. Illa gulped in a large breath of air, suddenly rejuvenated, exhaustion gone.

"Okay, we have to get out of here," the Doctor spoke, pointing his device at the machine. Illa let out a yelp of fright as it sparked to life, before watching the Doctor grab the unconscious Jake.

"Well, c'mon, this building is going to blow sky high in the next five minutes," the Doctor said, beginning to walk to the stairs leading upstairs. Illa stumbled to her feet, choking off a sob.

"What about-"

"Argh, my head is killing me."

Illa gasped, watching as Rose wobbly stood to her feet, hands still tied behind her back. The Doctor grinned, saying, "Great timing, Rose."

Out of relief, Illa rushed forward and gave Rose a bone-crushing hug. "You're okay," she sobbed, finally allowing tears to fall down her cheeks. She began to cry harder as Rose chuckled.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, gesturing to the ticking machine. "Can we cut the domestics until we're out of the time-bombed building?"

Illa jumped back, letting out a wheeze of shock. "Y-yeah, good idea."

They rushed up the stairs, Illa assisting the Doctor in carrying Jake, since Rose's hands were occupied by rope. She flinched anytime he resembled moving, still not trusting him to suddenly wake up and kill her, like he had intended.

Before they were out the doors, Illa rushed over to the fire alarm and pulled down on the lever, grimacing as a shrill ringing noise echoed in her ears. As she threw Jake's arm over her shoulder once again, she mumbled, "Want to get everyone out of the building," to answer the Doctor and Rose's questioning looks.

They ran across the large expanse of the field in front of the college, running until they were farther than a safe distance away. Illa smiled as she saw people making their way out of the building, confused, but otherwise okay.

In a single moment, before they could comprehend it, the building exploded. Illa screamed, the explosion shaking the ground enough to make her stumble. The sound was deafening, the flames that tickled the rubble of her college red-hot. The screams of the people who had been inside dimly registering in her ears.

"There goes my major," Illa whispered sadly, biting her lip as her dreams were burned to dust.

Rose bumped her hip as she gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

Illa sighed, readjusting her grip on Jake. "S'not your fault. I'd rather a burnt major than be dead."

The Doctor hummed, nodding his head to the blue box that rested at the entrance of the grounds. "C'mon, we gotta get him back to his home planet, and I'd rather have him restrained _before_ he wakes up."

Illa snorted. "Y'know, this morning I would have called you crazy, but after the day I just had I'm willing to believe anything." The grin he shot her way made her sigh.

The Doctor unlocked the door to the... TARDIS, if she remembered correctly, and they stepped inside. Illa tried not to scream as they did, her insides screaming 'not possible, not possible,' but she ignored them. Jake was tied up in the most supposedly strongest chains, but Illa rested on the other side of the room just in case, chatting quietly with Rose.

The Doctor fiddled with a few controls, turning some levers here and touching a few knobs there, before the TARDIS made a noise, and he gestured to the door. "Here you go, your apartment, Illa. Step outside and you'll have comfy Jim-jams and a normal life."

Illa released a shaky exhale, stepping forward. She gave the still unconscious Jake a nasty look, chest hurting as she looked at him. She had trusted and loved him once upon a time. "What are you going to do with him?"

The Doctor shrugged, turning some more levers for who knows what. "Take him back to his planet, hopefully have him imprisoned for illegal use of deadly machines and killing innocents."

She nodded, rubbing her forehead. "So this is goodbye?" she asked, giving a tense smile.

He nodded. Rose smiled, giving Illa a hug. "It was nice to meet you, Illa," Rose said, grinning a toothy smile.

Illa smiled brighter. "Likewise Rose." She turned to the Doctor, giving a mock salute. "Thanks for everything, and uh... making sure I wasn't eaten," she joked, snorting.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "What is it with blonds and being jeopardy-friendly?" The two blonds in questions letting out simultaneous, 'Oi's!' which made him laugh.

Illa shook her head, hand grasping onto the handle of the TARDIS. "Goodbye," she said earnestly, waving at the two of them as she stepped out. She held in her gasp of alarm when she saw her apartment (God he wasn't joking), but she held it in. She had seen weirder things today.

She stepped inside, letting out a long, tired exhale as she closed the door behind her, tossing her jacket onto her couch. She rubbed at her face, tears she had shed not too long ago still evident on her cheeks, Her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall and she grimaced; she looked like crap.

All of a sudden, a strange wheezing noise filled the room, a gust of breeze wafting through the air. She whirled around, shock running through her veins as the TARDIS de-materialized, right in front of her, until it was gone. When the sound and the wind was gone, she let out another shaky exhale, stumbling over to her couch as she tumbled down into it.

God, it was a long day. Saw a dead body, an alternate dimension, police box spaceship thingy, was dating the boy she liked for only a few hours before he tried to kill her, thought she had been the cause of another girl's death and blew up her college. Wonderful. Illa was seriously considering calling up an asylum.

She closed her eyes, only wanting to sleep, but she was confused by the sudden hole in her chest. She had only known Rose and the Doctor for a mere few hours, but they had left quite the impression. Her world had been shattered and expanded, and for a little moment, she had been part of something so much bigger. So much more wonderful and mysterious. She had so many questions. But now, it was back to being Illa Dutcher, artist without a major, lover of cartoons and video games, with no future ahead of her.

At first, she thought she imagined it, the whirring noise. Thought she was just longing for the sense of being someone important once again. But no, she couldn't imagine the breeze that tickled her hair and face. So, with a tingling hope in her chest, she opened her eyes, and grinned wildly at the sight of the TARDIS. She couldn't help herself.

Rose and the Doctor peeked their heads out the door, smiling at her. She sat up on the couch as the Doctor said the words, "You coming?"

Illa bit her lip, reality sinking in, as much as it hurt. "My parents would be worried, and I have rent and I need to find a job..."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, stifling his laughter as Rose giggled. "It also travels in time. All of time and space or a job. Your choice."

Illa didn't have to think about it.

She ran inside the TARDIS without hesitation, Rose's amused laughter following her. Excitement bubbled in her nerves, thousands of questions and possibilities flowing in her brain.

"So!" the Doctor exclaimed, cheery as he ran to the TARDIS controls. "Since Rose was adamant you come and it's your first adventure, where do you wanna go? Forwards, backwards in time? Earth history or another planet future?"

She was speechless. She could do all that? There were so many possibilities, so many places to go. She could visit Vincent Van Gogh, or go to the moon. Oh god that would be cool. Ooh, she could visit feudal Japan! Maybe Egypt! Or even-

Before she was able to stutter out a reply, Rose grabbed her arm and began to lead her down a hallway that lead away from the console room. "No adventures until we've slept," Rose said, stubborn.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, snorting. "You humans and your sleep patterns. Alright. The TARDIS should have a mattress in your room Rose, until we can find Illa her own room."

Rose nodded. "Alright. That just means we can have a sleep over!" Illa tried to be cheerful, but she was too tired to reply as she held back a yawn. She didn't even realize how tired she was.

The next few minutes passed by in a blur, as Illa changed into some pj's Rose had given her. She nodded along as Rose talked, excited to have another girl on board, but most of what she said flew over Illa's head. Eventually, exhaustion settled in, and the both of them lied down into their respective beds (Illa's on the floor).

Illa couldn't help contain the smile on her face. She was so excited! A laugh bubbled up in her throat, and before long, she had fell asleep, awaiting the adventure of a life-time that awaited her in the morning.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! I've always been interested in writing a Doctor Who fanfiction. There's so many possibilities! So, I finally got around to writing this.**

 **This will follow the main story, including the episodes, however, it will occasionally be AU, and will have original chapters, like this one is. Next chapter will follow a season 1 episode, however. There may be few hints as to which episode in the chapter if you squint enough.**

 **If there are any mistakes or corrections, please tell me! I'd appreciate it! Also, I'll try to do my research, but science and history are not my best subjects, so please be patient with me if I mess up.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that you will enjoy the ones to come! Until then!**

 **-Adios!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own Doctor Who or anything related to it. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

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 **Review responses:**

 **Miriam Who: Thank you very much! I hope you'll enjoy later chapters. I'm glad that you like Illa, sine I was somewhat scared people wouldn't like her ^^'**

 **Frosty600: Thank you, and here it is! The next chapter!**

 **Snowki: Here ya go! :D**

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Illa awoke the next morning (or what she assumed to be morning) feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time.

Rose was already awake, grinning at the groggy and confused blonde who had slept on her floor as she poked her head from her closet. "Slept well, sleeping beauty?" she chuckled, tossing Illa's jacket at her.

Illa yawned, nodding as she snuggled into her jacket, sniffing in the paint scent that still lingered on it. "Mhm. The noises that the TARDIS makes was somehow relaxing," she answered to the other girl.

Rose nodded in agreement. "Yup. I slept like a baby for the first few nights with the Doctor. Especially with all the running we do." Illa raised an eyebrow. "Trust me, you'll do a lot of running on the TARDIS." Illa pouted, containing her groan as Rose chortled at her. "C'mon, the Doctor is getting restless. I have a few outfits in my closet, take your pick."

Illa wasn't a fan of Rose's wardrobe, but shrugged, picking out a pair of shorts and threw on a worn hoodie over-top her T-shirt. Comfortable and practical, just the way she liked it.

Rose refused to leave Illa by herself, to which Illa was extremely thankful, since the ship liked to change the hallways, she soon learned. It was confusing and took nearly ten minutes to finally reach the control room.

The Doctor was fiddling around underneath the control panel, doing who knows what, still in his jumper and jacket combo from the day before. When he heard their footsteps, alerting him to their presence, he let out a sigh as he stood up, giving them a stink-eye. "What took you two so long? Were you trying to find the lost city of Atlantis?"

Rose rolled her eyes, tumbling into the chair. "TARDIS decided she wanted to prank us this morning." The Doctor let out an, 'Ah'.

Illa leaned against the railing, thinning her lips into a straight line. "Is Atlantis actually real?" she blurted out.

The Doctor snorted. "Yeah, c'ourse. Atlantis was a city of aliens who were forced to hide deep in the ocean 'cuz humans didn't want them."

Illa nodded. "Should'a known."

"We should visit Atlantis!" Rose blurted, grinning. "Imagine that! The lost city of Atlantis, Illa! For your first trip!"

Excitement welled up within Illa's gut, and she felt a grin crossing her face. "Can we actually do that? That would be amaze-"

The TARDIS interrupted her with a lurch, sending the occupants to the side as they tried to grasp onto anything to keep them up-right. The Doctor leaped to the panel, cursing under his breath.

"What? What is it? What happened?!" Rose shouted, able to make her way beside him as he turned and pushed at controls.

"Mauve!" The Doctor answered simply.

"Like the color?" Illa asked.

"Like the color! For danger!"

"Isn't that red?"

"No, no, it isn't. That's only something unique to you apes!" Illa scrunched up her face.

"He likes to insult species when he's stressed," Rose explained to her, her own stress evident on her face.

"Wait, wait, shut up a minute!" The Doctor snapped, effectively shutting up the girls as he frantically tinkered with the controls. Before the girls could comprehend it, he chuckled as the TARDIS halting in its jerky movement's. "There, see? I am impressive, Rose. Locked on to its computer. We'll trail behind it no problem."

"What are we trailing behind?" Illa asked.

"A ship. It hit us, something the TARDIS didn't like, mind you. But now we can chase after it," the Doctor replied, grinning.

"That's safe, yeah?"

"Yeah, totally!" The TARDIS blew sparks, making the girls scream in alarm. "Okay, reasonably, I should have said reasonably there." A series of words appeared on the moniter, sending the Doctor into a stream of curses. "No! It's heading into the time vortex! I could lose it!"

"That's bad, yeah?" Rose questioned breathlessly, trying to hold onto the railings as the Doctor continued to curse, typing in random stuff Illa had no idea did.

"We have no idea what this thing is, how dangerous it is, and it's about to fly into the middle of London," the Doctor replied, giving a harsh stare to the taller blond. "So yeah, that's bad."

The two girls shared a passing, scared glance as they held onto the railings. Illa grunted as she was nearly tossed onto the grating. "Is it always this bumpy?" she screamed over the sparks.

"You get used to it," Rose replied tensely, letting out her own grunt.

Finally, after nearly a minute of playing tug-a-war with the railings and trying to stay upright, the TARDIS slowed to a stop, the strange, wheezing noise filling the air. The Doctor grinned, looking proud of himself. "There, London. Mind you, a month late, but London none the less." He dashed towards the doors, grinning at the girls. "Well, come on then. Adventure awaits, Illa."

It was a lot to take in, Illa thought. 'This is it. I'm in London. I just went through time, how cool is that?!' She let out a shaky exhale and stepped out before the Doctor, wringing her sleeves nervously.

It was a lot less glamorous than you'd think. The Doctor landed in an alleyway, garbage scattered about and the smell of alcohol in the air. But she couldn't contain her laugh of excitement. This was an adventure! A new place to explore, even if it was just London and not something extravagant like Atlantis.

Rose and the Doctor stepped out after her, giving Illa hesitant looks in case the girl decided to kneel over in shock or something similar. Thankfully, she didn't, instead laughing happily as she whirled around to face them. "This is amazing!" she said, before wrinkling her nose. "Could do without the smell though. But other than that, amazing!"

"She's taking this easier than you did," the Doctor said smugly, giving Rose a haughty look. She wasn't impressed.

"You took me five billion years into the future to see the death of my planet, of course I didn't take it well!" she rebutted, smirking as the Doctor's grin fell, muttering words under his breath.

Illa stopped her admiration of the crisp, clean view of the stars to raise her eyebrow. "He took you to see the death of the Earth?" she asked.

"Yup," Rose replied, beginning to walk down the alleyway, leading the other two. "Nearly got killed by a bitchy, talking trampoline, too." Illa felt genuine confusion at the statement but told herself to ask Rose about the adventure later. "So, Doctor, how're we gunna find this thing? London doesn't seem to be in utter chaos so I don't think it's done much." Rose grinned, bumping his shoulder. "Are you gunna do a scan for alien tech?"

The Doctor scoffed. "Big ship, flying into the middle of old age London, leaving a big noise?" He shook his head. "No, Rose. I'm going to ask around." Rose's face fell, leaving Illa to chortle beside her. The Doctor flipped open the wallet that first got Illa ropped up into this thing, but this time, it had the words, 'Dr. John Smith. Ministry of Asteroids.' They looked up at him as he put it back into his pocket. "Physic paper, tells people what I want it to tell them."

Rose rolled her eyes as the Doctor began to do something to the door with the strange device he had yesterday. "C'mon, Doctor! Illa's first adventure and you're gunna ask? Give us some Spock!" Rose complained, tugging on Illa's arm for emphasis. Illa really didn't mind, but she had the smallest inkling Rose was just using her name as an excuse, so she kept quiet.

The Doctor chose to ignore her, however, instead eyeing her shirt distastefully. "You sure about that T-shirt?"

"I don't think that's important," Illa stated, exasperated with his statement. "Also, what is that thing? You kept using it yesterday but you never explained what it was."

The Doctor grinned as the door opened, much to her surprise. "It's called a sonic screwdriver. Number 'a uses. Get's us out of a pinch plenty of times."

Illa wasn't so convinced. "Sure. I'll believe 'ya when it helps assemble a cabinet to get us outta trouble."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, saying, "I already get sarcasm from Rose, I don't need it from you." Illa mockingly repeated the words under her breath as he stepped inside the building, the sound of music drifting in the air. Illa could tell it was an old - impossibly old style of jazz. The Doctor didn't seem to mind though, if his confident stride into what could have been a bar was anything to go by. Illa was quick to follow, letting out a sigh of relief when she was hit by warm air. Perhaps she shouldn't have worn the shorts.

Her assumption about it being a bar was correct. Well, the term night club would be a better one. People littered around fancy decorated tables, smoking and drinking to their heart's content, much to Illa's displeasure. It was dim inside, candles lighting up the room as the inhabitants observed the lady dressed up on a stage, her voice melodious as she sang while jazz music played in the background.

Illa became very conscious to the fact that she was extremely under dressed, fidgeting as she eyed her worn out hoodie and shorts, biting her lip. Maybe if she didn't talk to anyone they wouldn't notice her. She snorted as she realized that wouldn't happen. She stood out like a sore thumb. She appreciated the jazz music, though. She played a musical instrument in high school, and while she didn't have as much a passion for it as art, she did enjoy playing it. Hmm, maybe next time she was home she would pick it up again...

"This is really cool," she breathed quietly, eyes roaming the club and the people. They were so different from her own time. The Doctor grinned at her as soon as the song ended and people began to clap, the woman leaving the stage.

"That's my cue," the Doctor said.

"What?" Illa replied, waiting, confused as he ran up on stage, up the microphone.

"Hey, yeah, sorry, excuse me, excuse me. Sorry to disturb your night," the Doctor said, confusing Illa more. "Sorry, may be a bit of a stupid question, but has anyone seen something fall outta the sky recently?" The People looked at him incredulously, before bursting out into laughter, adding the Doctor to the string of confusion. "Did I say something funny?" he asked, even more confused when people continued to laugh. "I really need to find it; would'a fallen maybe a couple weeks ago?"

Illa was about to suggest he stop talking and get off the stage, when an alarm began to sound. It was loud, and people groaned is disappointment, taking sips of their drinks and one last swigs of cigarettes as they begun to pile out. Illa watched, curious, before the Doctor walked over to her, embarrassed and frustrated.

"What's that, then?" Illa asked. The Doctor only pointed to a sign, right beside the door people were leaving in, that read, 'Hitler will leave no warning. Get to shelters quickly.' Illa breathed a shaky exhale, giving an incredulous look to the Doctor. "It's World War 2?!" she shouted quietly, only so they could hear.

The Doctor grimaced. "Yeah, sorry. Should'a made sure your first adventure wasn't a global catastrophe but..."

Illa ran a hand down her face, shocked and scared. She had been taken to a war torn world, years away from home. She could die here and nobody would know, and the thought shook her to the bone. "Can we go back to the TARDIS?" she asked quietly. The Doctor nodded, sadly, leading her out. Illa rubbed her arms, before stopping and whirling to the Doctor. "Where's Rose?" she said.

He stopped, realizing a certain blond was missing. He let out a groan of annoyance as they stepped out into the colder alleyway. "One rule, just one rule; Don't wander off! How hard is that to follow?" He ranted. Illa was about to reply when a cat laying on a box beside them mewed. She stopped, regarding it with sympathy. It was fairly thin, half an ear chomped off with fur matted and torn. The Doctor picked it up, holding it to his chest. "Maybe one day I'll meet someone who get's the whole, 'Don't wonder off thing', yeah?" he said softly to the cat as it mewed back at him.

Illa huffed. "I haven't," she grumbled, the sound of things blowing up echoing in her ears far away. The Doctor scoffed, adding a, 'Yet,' under his breath. Then, he searched around in his pockets and pulled out a roll of gauze, handing it to Illa.

"Mind patching her up?" he asked. She nodded silently, and wrapped the gauze around the injured cat's paw. She missed home. She was so very far away from it. It was the 1930's for Pete's sake! During World War 2! What was she thinking, going along with two strangers?! She was dense, sometimes, sure, but had she really been that stupid? She bit her lip, keeping back tears. The idea of travelling sounded so absolutely wonderful, to see the stars, but... was she really fit for it?

She was brought out of her reverie, and the Doctor's rambling (that she had neglected to listen to), when a phone rang. The Doctor paused, confused, as he realized the sound came from the TARDIS. He handed Illa the cat, (who began to purr in he arms), as he walked forward, pulling open a panel. Illa walked over to it, shifting to make the cat more comfortable in her arms as the Doctor said incredulously, "How can you be ringing?"

"It's a phone, yeah? Isn't that what it's supposed to do?"

The Doctor glanced at her. "Not when it's a fake phone." Illa shifted, suddenly nervous. "What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?" the Doctor grumbled.

"Don't answer it."

Illa and the Doctor whirled around, facing the petit girl who stood before them. Dirt and soot smeared on her face, her clothes worn and raggedy. She looked to be a teenager, if Illa had to guess. "It's not for you," the girl said, furrowing her eyes seriously.

"How do you know that?" the Doctor said, stepping in front of Illa the smallest bit.

"Cos' I do," she replied, accent thick and heavy. "I'm warning ya', don't answer tha' phone."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you know so much, tell me this; how can it be ringing?" The Doctor turned around, back to the TARDIS as he continued, "It's not even a real phone. It's not connected, it's not-"

He turned around, only to realize the girl was gone.

"Well, that's ominous," Illa spoke under her breath to try and lighten the suddenly sour and tense mood. It worked, if only a little. The phone rang again, and the Doctor hesitantly picked it up.

"H-hello?" he spoke into it, hesitant. Illa leaned forward to try and listen in on what was being said, but all there was, was static. The Doctor frowned, before perking up as if he found this funny. "This is the Doctor speaking. How can I be of-"

"Mummy?"

They both tensed at the ominous, chilling voice of the child on the other line. The cat in Illa's arms howled, running away despite the limp from its leg. They held their breath as the child spoke again, "Mummy?"

"Who is this? How did you phone this number?" the Doctor spoke harsh and cold, causing Illa to roll her eyes.

"It's a kid, Doctor, be nice," she said. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she said into the mic, speaking gently.

"Are you my mummy?"

Even if it was only a kid, Illa couldn't deny the shiver that went up her spine. "What's your name?" Illa tried again, frowning at the cold face of the Doctor, knowing he was going to say something rude.

"Mummy?" The voice continued, making Illa more nervous. "Mummy? Muuummy!" Abruptly, the phone went static again, and Illa frowned, turning to the Doctor, scared, as she bit her lip.

The Doctor was frowning, too. Suddenly, he opened the TARDIS, and gestured inside. "You can wait here. I'm going to go find Rose, and if you want, take you home after."

He was offering to bring her back home? To her little community town, to her apartment, back in her own time? Back to her burnt college and no future worth a damn?

She shook her head, standing her ground despite how inviting being back home sounded. "No, I wanna make sure Rose is okay. She can't be too far."

The Doctor paused, before grinning and beginning to jog down the alleyway. "Well, then, let's get going. Don't wanna lose her. She's quite jeopardy friendly, that one."

Was this a bad idea? Probably. Was she scared beyond her wits? Most definitely. Did she regret wanting to help? Up for debate.

Still didn't stop her from chasing after the Doctor.

"So, what's the plan, Stan?" she asked, stuffing her, quite frankly, cold hands into the pocket of her hoodie as she jogged beside him.

He sent an amused look her way, before saying, "I want to have a word with that girl. She seems to know something that's going on, and if I'm right, which I usually am about these sorts of things, Rose can't be far behind." He shook his head. "She's always finding herself in trouble."

Illa nodded, and before long, they reached the backwaters of a neighborhood. She was about to ask where they should go when they heard shouting. The Doctor stood on a metal garbage can, and gestured for her to do the same. She did, albeit with some difficulty and straining to look over the wall with her short stature, but she was able to succeed. A large woman ushered her small son into what looked like a shack, patting the boy on the head before whirling around and screaming, "Arthur! Arthur get your sorry arse into the shelter right now!"

A man came out of a house encased by ivy, slightly large as he grumbled. "Blooming Germans, bombing during supper! Don't they eat?!" Illa felt amusement stir in her chest, and from the grin the Doctor wore on his face, so did he. A large boom from not too far rattled the ground. and the man, more furious this time, shouted into the sky, "Don't you eat?"

"Arthur! There's no time for games! This is an air raid, for bloody sake! Get inside!" the woman, presumably his wife shouted, ducking down into the shelter with her husband. Illa stifled a laugh, before quieting when she spotted the girl from earlier ducking into the house Arthur just came out of.

They waited a little bit, perhaps a few minutes, before there was a whistle, and then kids began to pour into the house, one by one, occasionally in pairs. But all very, very skinny.

"They're homeless," Illa muttered sadly, watching as a little girl coughed, holding onto a teddy bear falling apart at the seams.

"Air raids, perfect to find food," the Doctor said, before hopping off the trashcan to walk into the house. Illa bit her lip before following him. The house was warm, the smell of a hearty supper filling the air. Chatter and talk filled in from the Dining room, to which the Doctor strolled in casually. The talking ceased abruptly, the children inside freezing in fear at their seats. "Good evening!" the Doctor said cheerfully, sitting down and beginning to pile food onto a plate. Illa chose to stand behind him.

"Calm down. We shouldn't be here, either," the oldest girl, the girl from earlier, said, not without giving him a nasty stare.

The children sat back down, albeit nervously as they began to chomp down on their food. Soon, hunger took over, and they only ignored them. Until, the Doctor said, "So, what's the story with you lot?"

The eldest boy there eyed him suspiciously, as well as Illa, as her stomach growled and she took a small bun off the Doctor's plate, despite his protests. "What do you mean?"

"Homeless, right? Living rough? Not enough food every night?"

"Why do you wanna know?" another boy asked, nervously. The Doctor was about to reply, before the boy continued, "Are you a copper?"

"Course not," the Doctor replied, nearly looking insulted.

"Besides," Illa chimed in. "Even if we were, what'd we do? Arrest you for starving?" She smiled when the kids seemed to relax, laughing at her joke.

"But what I wanna know, is what're you lot still doing in London? You should all have been evacuated by now," the Doctor said.

"I was. But I ran back. Factory work wasn't for me," the eldest said, before grinning. "Besides, food is much better here, especially with Miss Nancy helping us out."

"Miss Nancy always get's us the best food!" A little girl chimed in, smiling with a large toothy grin, missing one of her front teeth.

"So... you scout out someone's home, see how much food is on the table?" Illa said, looking over at Nancy.

Nancy frowned. "And?"

"Then when the sirens alarm, and the family goes down into the shelter, you invite all the kiddies over to have the family's forgotten dinner, still fresh on the table, pudding for dessert!" The Doctor frowned, adding, "So long as the bombs don't get you."

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "Gotta problem with that?"

"Problem? It's brilliant," the Doctor replied, nudging Illa beside him. "She thinks so too, eh, Illa?"

"Why did you follow me?" Nancy said, cutting the Doctor off.

He sat back into the chair, crossing his arms. "I want to know how a fake phone rings, and how you know not to answer it."

"I did you a favor. I told ya not to answer it, and that's all I'm gunna tell ya'," Nancy replied, cutting into her food.

"We also want to find a girl," Illa said, glaring at the Doctor, since he nearly forgot.

He ignored her glare though, saying, "A blond in a union jack, to be precise. Not just any one though, a specific one. We didn't wake up today and have a craving for a blond in a union jack." The kids laughed further, before Nancy stood up with a huff, taking his plate away from him, causing him to pout. "What have I done wrong?"

"You took two slices, and she took two buns," Nancy replied crossly, glaring at the two. Illa shifted in guilt. "No blonds, no flags. Anything else you wanna ask before ya's leave?"

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," the Doctor grinned, taking a notebook and a pencil out of his pocket. He quickly sketched a drawing (poorly if you ask Illa) of a cylindrical shape, showing it to Nancy. "Something like this might have fallen from the sky, a month ago, not a bomb though. Would have looked like this." Illa noticed the way Nancy clenched her jaw tensely, and how her entire demeanor changed.

Suddenly, there was a knock, and then an ominous, child voice that said...

"Mummy?"

They whirled around, to the window, where the sound was coming from. "Are you in there mummy? Mummy?" the child continued saying. The Doctor stood from his seat, and tugged on the curtains. A child wearing a gas mask stood outside, his little hands against the glass.

"Who was the last one in?" Nancy demanded. "From the front?"

"Me, miss."

"Did you close the door?!"

The boy's hesitance answered for them.

"Mummy." The child began to head to the door, but before Illa could comprehend it, Nancy rushed to the front, slamming the door closed and locking it.

"What're you doing? Why are you locking him out?" Illa exclaimed, angry as she glared at Nancy.

"It's not easy being the only child left out in the cold," the Doctor said coldly, giving Nancy a glare too.

"I suppose you'd know then?" Nancy snapped.

"I do, actually, yeah."

Illa frowned, raising an eyebrow at the nonchalant Doctor as he looked towards the door. What did he mean, knowing what being left in the cold felt like? She felt curiosity bubbling in her chest, but from the way he clenched his jaw, she knew that didn't seem like a good idea. Instead, she turned towards Nancy, asking, "Why won't you let him in?"

Nancy gulped, eyes darting towards the door and Illa nervously, before she muttered, "He's... not exactly a child."

Illa wanted her to go into detail, but the 'not child' began to talk again, uttering the words, "Mummy," as well, too. Nancy backed up, as if she were frightened, before running into the dining room.

"Everyone, out! Out, out the back! Grab your coats, now. Move, c'mon, let's go!" Nancy demanded towards the children, ushering them to abandon the food that they had yet to finish. Surprisingly, they didn't put up a fuss, Illa thought, quickly finishing their bites and grabbing their coats, as if they were used to it. Illa probably wouldn't have questioned it herself, but they were children who never had the usual three meals a day. They were probably lucky to get scraps, and yet they were so easily deterred from a nice, fat and large meal like this?

Just who was that child?

Illa and the Doctor watched, confused as the children evacuated the house, one-by-one. "Just who's that child, Doctor?" Illa whispered to him, the Doctor shrugging with a frown.

"Mummy? Please let me in mummy. Mummy."

"Let's find out, shall we?" the Doctor replied to her question, walking towards the door. The little boy from the other side reached his hand through the mail flap, a large scar on the back of his little hand. "Are you okay? Do you need help?"

"Please let me in."

Illa reached forward to grab the little boy's hand, to try and comfort him, before Nancy unexpectedly threw a small vase at the door, causing the little boy's hand to retract. "You mustn't let him touch ya!"

"What was that for?!" Illa shouted at the girl, glaring fiercely. "He may be a bit scary but that's no reason to throw things at him!"

"He'll make ya like him!"

"What's he like?" Nancy nervously exhaled, eyes darting between the two furious people before her. She seemed hesitant to tell them, so the Doctor said carefully, "Nancy, what's wrong with him?"

Nancy took one last shaky inhale, before replying, "He's empty," and stalking off quickly towards the back.

Illa rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling disturbed and slightly freaked out. "That just raised more questions than answering them," she hissed under her breath, and while the Doctor had heard her comment, didn't respond to it. He was focused on the silhouette of the little boy in the doorway, eyes calculating.

"Illa, I'm about to do something very possibly stupid, so stand back a bit," the Doctor replied, waving a hand to the end of the hallway.

Illa bit her lips, but did as he asked, wringing her sleeves anxiously. "You're..." she spoke quietly, gaining his attention, "going to help him, right?"

He scoffed with a smile, waving his hand like swatting a fly. "Of course I'm going to help him. What kind of Doctor would I be otherwise?" A shaky smile fell on her face, feeling just a bit better. Even if she had gone off with a stranger, at least it was a kind stranger.

'Piiiing!'

The old phone rang, startling the both of them. They glanced at each other, and slowly, the Doctor picked it up. "Are you my mummy?" They looked at each other again, before the Doctor placed the phone back onto the hook. Suddenly, the radio in the dining room turned on, blasting music through the house, which perhaps wouldn't be too bad if the child's voice wasn't mixed in. Then, the monkey with cymbals began to play, once again with the frightening voice of the child, then the phone again.

The Doctor and Illa rushed back to the hallway, the Doctor kneeling in front of the door with Illa standing behind him. The little boy repeated his phrase once again, making Illa shudder. At first, it hadn't bothered her. But when the whole house was repeating the same sentence? Bit more creepy. "Your mummy isn't here," the Doctor said, and abruptly, the whole house silenced.

"... Are you my mummy?"

"No mummies here, sweetheart," Illa spoke gently.

"Nobody here but us chickens," the Doctor added with a grin, making her smack his arm softly, leading him to let out a quiet yelp.

"I'm scared..."

The two frowned at the words, the Doctor's lighthearted joke falling flat. "Why are the others scared of you?" Illa asked softly, gazing sympathetically at the little boy's hand, reaching out to them, begging for help.

"Please let me in, mummy," the child said, ignoring her question. "I'm scared of the bombs."

Illa couldn't hear this anymore. "Doctor, we've got to do something," she insisted sadly, smiling as he nodded, albeit tensely.

"Alright, we're going to let you in now, okay?" the Doctor said hesitantly, Nancy's words from before ringing in his head. But he couldn't let a child be all alone. The little boy drew back his hand from the opening, and nervously, Illa and the Doctor opened the locks. She hid behind the taller man, just in case, as he swiftly opened the door.

Nobody was there.

"That's creepy, and ominous, and I really, really don't appreciate it," Illa exhaled shakily, twisting her head around the lawn and street, trying to find the child to no avail.

The Doctor chuckled softly at her comment, still perturbed by the mysterious disappearance of the child. "How does a child just do those sorts of things?" he said, nose scrunching up as he talked.

Illa shrugged. "How should I know? You're the expert." She shivered, still gazing around. "Still, that kid gave me the creeps, even if he sounded sad."

"Well, only one thing we can do," the Doctor said cheerfully, walking back into the house.

"What's that?"

The Doctor grinned as they walked through the back garden into the streets. "Follow Nancy. I want to know how she knows so much." Suddenly, his face fell as he turned to Illa. "You should go back to the TARDIS. It'll be safer there."

Illa bit her lip, crossing her arms at some weak attempt at fighting the cold. She could, and she probably should, but she'd be lying if the little boy and the mystery surrounding him didn't intrigue her. She wanted to know what was wrong and how to help him, even if she couldn't do much and the Doctor would probably do all the work anyway. Instead, she shook her head, trying to contain the way her teeth clattered. "Nah, I'll stay with you. Besides, someone has to keep you from getting into too much trouble since Rose isn't here."

He shook his head at her jab, but didn't reply to it. "Alright, if that's what you want. C'mon, she went this way."

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to finally post this. These past few weeks have been... rough. High school sucker punched me in the gut, not to mention that my computer barely works half the time and I had a hospital visit (that turned out to be nothing). I'll try to get these chapters out faster, but I can't guarantee anything.**

 **Also, all of your support has made me really happy! I'm so surprised The Kindred is doing so well, thank you so much! :D**

 **If there were any grammar or spelling mistakes, please let me know, I appreciate it!**

 **-Until next time!**


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